The day of the test came, but there was something wrong. Two things wrong, in fact. Themba was absent and Tebogo was suddenly being very nice to Lesedi.

Karabo was feeling rather happy that Themba was absent; this could be their chance to finally get together. She knew that Lesedi always stuck to her decisions and because Themba was missing the test, there was no way she would give him a chance. This immediately disqualified him.

Today, the maths period was first. Mr Mooki always wanted the tests to be written in the morning so that he could start marking them immediately and hand them back the following day. Lesedi knew that the results would definitely be out by then.

“Time is up everyone,” Mr Mooki announced. “Pens down please. Drop your answer sheets on my table as you go out.”

Tebogo was the first to put his paper on the table. This was not surprising; he was currently at the top of the maths leaderboard, followed by Karabo then Lesedi. What was unusual was the lightness in his step and the way he whistled, as if he knew the winning numbers to the lottery.

Karabo really wanted to express to her friends her hope about the chances of her and Themba getting together, but she knew that she would sound like a backstabber. She called herself to order – she shouldn’t be having such thoughts about the guy who was asking her friend out.

The break-time bell rang and the girls made their way to their spot.

“So, Diva K, are you bringing Kabo to the dance?” Karabo asked as soon as they sat down. She wanted to start a new topic before they could talk about the test or Lesedi and her two boys.

“But of course, my darling. How is it coming with your dress?” Kitso asked. She had helped Karabo choose her dress because, as she said, Karabo’s choice was always pretty boring.

“My final fitting is next week. But it is looking very nice. Should I say, ‘All thanks to you’?” Karabo teased.

“What would you do without me?” Kitso said jokingly, giving Karabo a high five. Kitso had a great eye for fashion, she knew all the trends. If being a socialite was a genuine job, she would have studied towards it and earned a Master’s degree! She knew all the latest celebrity gossip, all the hot parties to go to and everything about all the ‘it’ girls. This was her talent. The other two girls could never compete with her, and they never tried to.

“And you, Sedi, how is your dress coming along?” she asked Lesedi.

“It’s coming along nicely. I went for my final fitting during the weekend. And I’ll be collecting it sometime this week,” Lesedi said, not sounding as excited as expected.

“Karabo, do you have a date yet? Well, I know you don’t have a date. Kabo has this other hot friend. I can speak to him if you like,” Kitso said, sounding as if she had already spoken to Kabo’s friend.

“No! I mean, no thanks. Your match-making skills won’t work for me this time,” Karabo said.

Kitso had tried to hook her up with one of Kabo’s friends before and it all turned out to be a disaster. The boy couldn’t talk about anything apart from American hip-hop and video vixens – a total turn-off.

“Well, don’t say I didn’t try, when you are all on your own on your special day. OK, darling?” Kitso said.

“So, Sedi, how is your plan going to work, now that Themba missed the test?” Karabo asked, almost hoping that Lesedi would say, “Take him, he’s all yours.”

“Uhmm, well, he knew about the test and what it will help determine and he missed it. I guess he never really wanted me,” Lesedi said, not sounding convinced by her own decision.

Karabo’s heart was doing back-flips and all sorts of dances, the kind that Kitso did when she was excited, but she stopped it. Just because Themba hadn’t taken the test didn’t mean that he and she could land up dating.

The rest of the school day went by fast, with Lesedi’s mind in turmoil.

A part of her wanted to accept that Themba missed the test, while the other part argued that it was very unlike him to miss a test. He must have had a good reason. Maybe she should have another plan, in which both boys could participate? The moment she thought this, yet another part of her said that it would be very exciting to have Tshepo as a date for the dance. He would definitely be dressed to kill and all the girls would be envying her.

Then, while walking deep in thought between classes, Lesedi stopped.

With all her thinking and worrying and wondering she had never paused to realise that neither of the boys was making her feel as her father said. Neither one of them made her feel that she ‘knew’. She didn’t look at Themba or Tshepo and think: ‘This is the one. I know.’ She didn’t have that feeling of certainty; all she had was a mind full of endless possibilities.

Maybe you know as you go, after a few dates with someone, Lesedi tried to reason with herself.

Her transport came. When she got home she checked her phone to see if Themba had sent her a message to explain his absence.

Hy Sedi. Sorry I missed the test.

Had 2 rush my granny to hospital.

What now? Lesedi thought to herself.

***

Tell us what you think: What should Lesedi do now?